The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus of assembling a vehicular body. More specifically, the method and the apparatus under the present invention are those which are preferable for a pre-tack welding operation by making a relative positioning between main components including a floor main, a right body side, a left body side, a roof rail and the like.
A mixed production has a line for assembling in common various types of vehicular bodies. A body main pre-tack welding operation is included in the mixed production.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,277 {equivalent of Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. Heisei 8(1996)-15876} and U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,634 {equivalent of Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. Heisei 8(1996)-15877} disclose the body main pre-tack welding operation where a body main is pre-tacked by making a relative positioning between a floor main, a right body side, a left body side, a roof rail and the like which constitute a skeleton of a vehicular body.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such a method and an apparatus of assembling a vehicular body that any complicated relative jig arrangement (i.e., jigs for locating body side upper section, roof rail and the like) outside a body side can be prevented, by using a front jig and a rear jig which are disposed respectively on a front side and a rear side of the vehicular body (to be assembled) and are independent of each other on a ceiling.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method and the apparatus for assembling with ease the vehicular bodies having remarkable variations in panel configuration, by allowing a general welding robot to approach the body side from outside.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a vehicular body wherein a pre-tack welding operation is carried out by positioning each of a floor main, a right body side, a left body side and a roof rail which constitute a body main component of a vehicle while by making a relative positioning between the floor main, the right body side, the left body side and the roof rail. The method comprises the following operations:
positioning the floor main and making the relative positioning between the floor main and the body side""s lower section, by using a three-dimension general locator device standing on a floor, and
positioning each of the right body side, the left body side and the roof rail and making the relative positioning between the body side""s upper section and the roof rail, by using a front body side upper section locator jig and a rear body side upper section locator jig which are disposed on a ceiling and independent of each other in a forward-and-rearward direction of the vehicular body, and each of which is replaceable in accordance with a type of the vehicle.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus of assembling a vehicular body, comprising:
a three-dimension general locator device standing on a floor, and
a front body side upper section locator jig and a rear body side upper section locator jig.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a vehicular body, comprising the following operations:
a temporary assembling operation of temporarily making a relative positioning between a floor main, a right body side, a left body side and a roof rail which constitute a body main component of a vehicle,
a pre-tack welding operation by positioning each of the floor main, the right body side, the left body side and the roof rail while by making the relative positioning between the floor main, the right body side, the left body side and the roof rail, and
an additional welding operation of the body main after the pre-tack welding operation.
Hereinabove, the body main component is conveyed between the operations in such a manner that the body main component is carried on a pallet having such a function as to position and clamp the floor main. In the pre-tack welding operation, a three-dimension general locator device standing on a floor lifts up the body main component including the floor main and makes the positioning, thereby implementing the pre-tack welding operation with the body main component separated from the pallet. Moreover, in the additional welding operation, the pallet is positioned in a pallet positioning apparatus, and the body main which is positioned and clamped by the pallet is subjected to the additional welding operation.
The other objects and features of the present invention will become understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.